About the Hearth Father

Alfarrin, Heathen and Father of Hofstaðr Hearth. Well learned at lore, student of Old Norse and Icelandic, Deep and Spiritual Ecologist, and True Polytheist. Many-times Great Grandson of the Belgae, Ostrogothi, and Cruthin. Rune-wise stave and sign carver. Apologist for modern Polytheism.

"People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors."-Edmund Burke

"Christianity has emptied Valhalla, felled our sacred groves, extirpated our national image as a shameful superstition, as a devilish poison, and given us instead the imagery of a nation whose climate, laws, culture and interests are strange to us, and whose history has no connection with our own. A David or a Solomon lives in our popular imagination, but our own country's heroes slumber in learned history books."- George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

"Fearlessness is better than a faint-heart for any man who puts his nose out of doors. The length of my life and the day of my death were fated long ago."-Anonymous lines from 'For Scirnis'

"I think Scandinavian Paganism, to us here, is more interesting than any other. It is, for one thing, the latest; it continued in these regions of Europe till the eleventh century; 800 years ago the Norwegians were still worshippers of Odin. It is interesting also as the creed of our fathers; the men whose blood still runs in our veins, whom doubtless we still resemble in so many ways."- Thomas Carlyle

Kindred

Sunday, January 28, 2007

The basis of much Germanic sorcery was found in the proper and intentional use of the power of speech or the voice. Galdr magic, including invoking Runes or "Rune singing" was an important esoteric practice in the North. To create Galdrar or Incantations is the central part of any work of Heathen mystical art. The "Sounds heard during the performance of Seid", the Seidlaeti, show that the use of incantations and sacred sounds was an aspect of that art as well.

I believe that all of this goes back to the common use of songs and chants on the parts of shamanic-type mystical workers worldwide, including in the most ancient times of Europe. Nearly every healing charm I have come across has some form of incantation attached to it- the healer uses sacred poems, words, or chants to verbalize and manifest through sound the desired outcome. The power of the "word", as it were, was one of the sacred Runes or Mysteries- communication and "word-song" is not just a fact of human life, but a spiritual power that has the power to shape reality.

I have a penchant for taking surviving incantations and charms from historical sources and "re-paganizing" them for my own use, and the use of my friends. The Anglo-Saxon "Aecerbot" or the "Field Remedy" has always been a favorite of mine, and I decided to weave in Proto-Germanic names for the proper powers into my re-paganized version of it, and give an example of how it can be used for more than the purpose of urging the earth to be fruitful.

The original translation of the Aecerbot that I used was from 'Anglo-Saxon Verse Charms, Maxims and Heroic Legends' By Louis.J.Rodrigues. What follows are two "reclaimed" versions, one for the fertility of the land, and the other for the protection of a home and family. A clever person will already know how to use the Blot or sacrifice to the Gods in conjunction with these charms to make them very effective.

For the Fruits of the Earth

'Eastward I stand, for favours I pray,I pray the great lord Tiwaz, I pray the mighty prince,I pray the holy protector of heaven,Earth I pray and skyand the true holy Fraujon,and heaven's might and heaven's godly halls,that by the power of the gods and this charmI may pronounce, by strong resolveto raise these crops for our worldly use,make beautiful these meadows, by the goodnessof our people who give sacrifices andact in a generous spirit one to the otherin accordance with the will of the Gods.'

'May the eternal shaper Wodanaz,and his chosen ones, who are in the shining realms above,see that this land be kept safe from every foe,and it be secure against every harm,from troll-sorceries sown throughout the land.Now I pray the ruler who wrought this worldthat no cunning woman so eloquent, nor crafty man so potent,there be to pervert the words thus pronounced.'

'Hail to thee, earth, mother of men!Be thou blessed in the Lord's embrace,filled with food for the salvation of man.'

'Field full of food for the use of menbrightly blooming, be thou blessedin the holy name of him who shaped the heavensand this earth on which we live.May the god who wrought these lands grant usgrowing gifts and prove each grain of use.'

For the Protection of Home and Family

'Eastward I stand, for favours I pray,I pray the great lord Tiwaz, I pray the mighty prince,I pray the holy protector of heaven,Earth I pray and skyand the true holy Fraujon,and heaven's might and heaven's Godly halls,that by the power of the gods and this charmI may pronounce, by strong resolveTo protect this home, this enclosure holy to my family.Make peace fill this home,and blessed be the ground on which it stands,by the goodness of my family who offers sacrificeand who act in a generous spirit one to the otherin accordance with the will of the Gods.'

'Ertho, Ertho, Ertho, mother of earth,and the mighty lord Fro Ing grant usa family growing and thriving,fruitful and full of health.Let there be bright abundance for our stores.Let there be frith in our months and years,and kinship with the holy Gods and ancestors.

'May the eternal shaper Wodanaz,and his chosen ones, who are in the shining realms above,see that this home be kept safe from every foe,and secure against every harm,From troll-sorceries sown throughout the land.Now I pray the ruler who wrought this worldthat no cunning woman so eloquent, nor crafty man so potent,there be to pervert the words thus pronounced.'

'Hail to thee, Earth, mother of Gods and men!Be thou blessed in the Lord's embrace,filled with food for the strength of our family and friends.'

'Home full of holy might, family here,brightly living, be thou blessedin the holy name of him who shaped the heavensand this earth on which we live.May the God who wrought these lands grant usour share of truth and holy wisdom.'